I avoided any Thanksgiving invitations from family members....

[DemocraticPatriot]

(even though I do not know if I would have received any.... I have no desire to congregate with anyone within enclosed spaces.... especially including anyone who became 'anti-vaxxers' in the past 2 years... and the whole covid crisis has contributed to my natural anti-social inclinations--- my disinclination to congregate with large numbers of people within enclosed spaces, now includes doing so with blood members of my family)....


Besides that, I have never been fond of turkey (but coated baked chicken is one of my very favorite dishes, and I availed myself of that, along with asparagus, cheesed broccoli, mashed potatoes with sour cream and chives-- and one other thing I cannot now remember, HAHHAHAHAHA)


I feel bad about partially self-isolating myself, but it is what it is....

On the other hand, I have never contracted COVID, so far as I know...

Happy Holidays, fellow DUers!

[sprinkleeninow]

1. I stayed home with my girl. Wasn't invited anywhere and was glad I didn't need to refuse.

I did Thanksgivings and holidays untold in the past so I did my time. Only one of me now and stuff is different.

I didn't want any turkey. A tad contrarian, I made a shrimp dish with cilantro, garlic and other seasonings over pasta. 'Twas just right.

Enjoy the balance of this holiday weekend❣️

[DemocraticPatriot]

3. Kudos on the shrimp!

Also an old favorite of mine, but have not had any for many years... perhaps a good choice for a Christmas present, to myself!


Thank you very much, please also enjoy 'the holiday weekend'!




(turkey, arghhhhhh.. once I tried to use ground turkey for taco filling, as a "cost saving measure"... no matter how many spices I used, it still tasted of "too much turkey"! Latest experiments with ground pork were much more successful- can't tell the difference!

[Mr.Bill]

2. We went to a good sized family gathering

for the first time since 2019. The catch was it was at my stepdaughter's house. She is an RN and hospital administrator, and asked that everyone be tested for Covid. She had plenty of test kits for those who didn't have one. All went well and we had a good time.

[3catwoman3]

4. Kudos to your step-daughter.

This retired nurse pactitioner gives her a tip of the hat -

[DemocraticPatriot]

8. That sounds great,

nice that your family members would cooperate with a Covid test.. (at this late date, when Covid is "over&quot ...


HappY hOLIDAYS!

[TreasonousBastard]

5. One Thanksgiving I booked a trip to Scotland to avoid all the...

under-the-table kicks and other annoyances.

Thanksgiving was a good choice because the weather was still decent and so few other tourists. Americans were hanging out with family and Europeans were working.

I did have to answer a lot questions about the holiday.

[Archae]

6. I was here with my 2 cats...

And a couple guys on Skype.

One in Albuquerque and the other in south Georgia.

[DemocraticPatriot]

9. I wish I had a pet,

but I did not feel it responsible to acquire a new one, until my personal situation is more resolved.

sadly, it is not yet, but must be so, relatively soon...


My backyard is suitable for a large dog, with a very small section of new fence---
and he/she would be a major deterrent to the groundhogs which plagued my garden this year....

Happy Holidays!

[Ocelot II]

7. My family, such as it is, had other plans in which I wasn't included,

but that was OK. I'm old, divorced, no kids - just another old lady with a cat. So I stayed home with said cat, and avoided another possible covid exposure. So far I haven't got it and would like to keep it that way. And I don't like turkey, either.

[DemocraticPatriot]

10. I'm an older man,

with no cat.

Sort of wish I had one, but mostly a dog...


Unfortunately a dog requires more personal attention 24/7---

otherwise, they chew up all your old Moody Blues albums...


(she had very good musical 'taste', if not particularly good behavior LOL)

[slightlv]

11. Talk to me about the 24/7

needs of the dog! Mine is the size of a small pony, to boot! The first time I took him for a walk, the motorcycle that passed us was much more to his interest. He zigged towards it, dragging me with him. Broke my leg. He outweighs me by 15 pounds now, and I'm afraid to try to take him for a walk by myself!

Meanwhile, I have 10 cats ranging in age from 6 months to 20+ years. They're a lot less hassle.

We all gathered at my sister's for Thanksgiving. Drove out to get Mom from the Memory Care home to have her join us. Turned out to be a chaotic disaster. Mom kept wanting to "go home" (meaning the home she sold some years ago). She wasn't interested in eating. The teenagers were bored. The menfolk kept getting in the way of the rest of us who were trying to get food done and on the table. Usually I can deal with holiday chaos okay, but guess I'm getting a little too old to deal with it handily, myself. By the time I got home at 7pm, I gave husband a kiss and told him I was going on to bed. I was exhausted.

Raised the suggestion with siblings that for Christmas, rather than trying to bring Mom to us we bring Christmas to her at the Home. We did that for her Birthday this past year, and it really seemed to go well. Some were okay with it, some not. We'll all get together later and discuss it further. But I think we saw with Thanksgiving, we've got to rethink some of the "traditions" with Mom at her age. But it's so hard to know what is right, and do what is right for her, versus what your heart wants to do.

[DemocraticPatriot]

13. My mother kept trying to 'go home', in the last years of her life.. she had alzheimers disease...

A few times she escaped from the home where she had lived for the last 50-some years of her life... walking away...


It became a sort of ritual every night, as I understand... My father, who was only less than a year older, resolved in his desperation to take her for a ride in the car, every night-- so he could tell her that "we are going home now"...


Mom kept wanting to "go home"....



Thank you for your response. I wish you Happy Holidays.

[Historic NY]

12. I went to relatives

down in VA. they all supported the president, and some worked for his campaign.

[wnylib]

15. I stayed home and did not have any guests.

Could have joined friends or traveled to relatives (all out of state and hundreds of miles away).

But I do not eat around other people indoors, whether in a restaurant, someone's home, or a public place where snacks are offered. I would have to remove my N95 to eat or drink something.

I am not just neurotically afraid of covid. There are medical reasons to avoid exposure. I had a med appointment the day before Thanksgiving for a general checkup. I told the nurse who drew blood for my labs what kinds of precautions I take - masks indoors, hand sanitizer, hand washing, no public eating, etc. She knows my health issues and said I was doing the right things and to keep it up. She also said that covid infection levels in the area are pretty high, along with flu and RSV.

So I stayed home alone except for the cat. Being physically alone does not mean being completely alone, these days. I can enjoy a safe meal and be in touch with friends and relatives.

I like traditional holiday foods so that's what I had. A local store sold whole turkey breasts so I bought a small one. Made some stuffing (stove top), and a "cranapple" salad which is my variation on the classic walforf salad. Baked potato, veggies, pumpkin pie.

[2naSalit]

16. I was invited to...

Make a turkey dinner with my hiking buddy who doesn't have family anymore. He has a house and a better kitchen so I made a couple cold dishes ahead of time and did the rest at his place. We went shopping the Sunday prior so we had time to get the last minute items by Wed. It went well, we had time during baking to play games and prep the final meal parts. It was a lot of work but we both have food left for days so there's no real cooking until Monday at least.

I had a situation that required a major hoop dance so I was glad to have handy food available.